Growth and optical properties of the Nd,Ce:YAG laser crystal

Highlights: • A Nd³⁺, Ce³⁺ double-doped YAG laser crystal was grown by the Czochralski method. • Modified temperature field helped avoid cracks and inclusions during crystal growth. • Ce³⁺ doped into the YAG crystal acts as a good sensitizing ion for Nd³⁺. • Compared to Nd:YAG, Nd,Ce:YAG has higher efficiency and lower laser threshold. A high-quality 2-inch-diameter Nd³⁺, Ce³⁺ co-doped Y₃Al₅O₁₂ (YAG) crystal was successfully grown by the Czochralski (CZ) method. During crystal growth, a modified temperature field was applied to prevent defects in the crystal. The spectrum of the sample showed strong absorption peaks corresponding to Nd³⁺ and Ce³⁺ ions. The effect of Ce³⁺ codoping on the photoluminescence of Nd³⁺ was investigated in detail. Strong 1066 nm emission of Nd^{3+ 4}F_3/2–⁴I_11/2 was observed upon the 5d excitation of Ce³⁺. The energy transfer from Ce³⁺ to Nd³⁺ consists of nonradiative and radiative components. Compared to Nd:YAG, the double-doped Nd,Ce:YAG crystal realizes better utilization of the pump energy and higher laser energy output. Moreover, the laser threshold value is also significantly reduced. These results imply that Ce³⁺ doped into the YAG crystal acts as a good sensitizing ion for Nd³⁺. Hence, this double-doped Nd,Ce:YAG crystal is expected to be of industrial significance for manufacturing high-energy, low-volume solid-state lasers.